MICROBIOLOGY

Presented by
Charles Prasath P
Devadharshni T
TAXIS IN MICROBES
What are taxis in microbiology?
Taxis is a behavioral response of a cell or an
organism to an external stimulus. It should not
be confused with kinesis, which is also a
behavioral response leading to the movement of a
cell or an organism to an external stimulus.
CLASSIFICATION
Taxes are classified based on the type of
stimulus, and on whether the organism's
response is to move towards or away from the
stimulus. If the organism moves towards the
stimulus the taxis are positive, while if it moves
away the taxis are negative. For example,
flagellate protozoans of the genus Euglena move
towards a light source. This reaction or behavior
is called positive phototaxis since phototaxis
refers to a response to light and the organism is
moving towards the stimulus.
FUNCTION OF TAXIS

o The ability of motile bacteria to navigate in

gradients of various physicochemical
parameters is termed taxis.
o Motile cells are able to respond to environmental
cues and alter their movement to navigate to the
most favorable niches for growth and survival.
TYPES OF TAXIS
This locomotion or movement may be towards
(positive taxis), away from (negative taxis) or at a
fixed angle to the source of the stimuli. Taxis, on the
basis of stimulus is of following types:
 Phototaxis
 Thermotaxis
 Chemotaxis
 Geotaxis
 Rheotaxis
 Thigmotaxis
 Galvanotaxis or electrotaxis
PHOTOTAXIS

 Oriented locomotory movement caused by the

light either towards a source or away from it is
called phototaxis.
 Positive phototaxis- Euglena

 Negative phototaxis- Ameoba

THERMOTAXIS

 Response of animals to temperature is known as

thermotaxis.
 Positive thermotaxis-Paramecium ,Ameoba
CHEMOTAXIS

 Animals showing response to the chemical

substances is called chemotaxis.
 Positive chemotaxis- Paramecium

 Negative chemotaxis- Ameoba

GEOTAXIS

 Animal’s response to gravity is called geotaxis.

 Positive geotaxis- Ameoba

 Negative geotaxis- Paramecium

RHEOTAXIS

 Response to current of air or water is called

rheotaxis.
 Positive rheotaxis- Paramecium

 Negative rheotaxis- Ameoba

THIGMOTAXIS

 Response to contact or touch is called

thigmotaxis.
 Eg.Paramecium
GALVANOTAXIS OR ELECTROTAXIS

 Movement of an organism or any of its parts in a

particular direction in response to an electric
current is called galvanotaxis or electrotaxis.
 Negative galvanotaxis- Paramecium
REFERENCES
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxis
 https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/taxis

 https://onlinesciencenotes.com/taxis-and-its-
types-on-the-basis-of-stimulus/